American Airlines' Hub Strategy, Airbus Achieves Autonomous Guidance and Control of Drone from Tanker Aircraft, and More
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Here are the exciting aviation industry updates for today. Let’s get started.
Airbus Achieves In-flight Autonomous Guidance and Control of Drone from Tanker Aircraft
Airbus Defence and Space and its subsidiary Airbus UpNext have accomplished in-flight autonomous guidance and control of a drone using an A310 MRTT as part of the Auto’Mate project.
The project aims to achieve Autonomous Formation Flight and Autonomous Air-to-Air Refuelling (A4R) and has demonstrated significant progress in the development of unmanned and manned aircraft operations.
The technologies could lead to reducing crew fatigue, human error, and crew-training costs while improving operational effectiveness.
The successful flight test marks a step forward in developing autonomous and unmanned air-to-air refueling technologies and is the first step toward manned-unmanned teaming and future air force operations with drone swarms. Read more
American Airlines' Hub Strategy
American Airlines plans to operate long-haul international flights mostly using Boeing 777-200s from Charlotte rather than 787s, as it takes on more aircraft from Boeing. The airline has added a third London Heathrow departure from Charlotte, leaving the US at 11:25 pm during the summer flying season.
Philadelphia remains its primary connecting hub to Europe, with New York JFK for predominantly local traffic.
American Airlines sees Los Angeles as a difficult market due to too much capacity, and it may focus on adding frequency rather than destinations for now. Read more
Rolls-Royce and STEM Returners Join Forces to Support Engineers Rejoining the Workforce
Rolls-Royce has partnered with STEM Returners to assist engineers in resuming their careers after a break. The defense division will offer a STEM Returners program at its Bristol facility, involving projects such as Tempest and Orpheus.
Roles for returners include engineering and project management opportunities. STEM Returners, a UK leader in returner programs, will source candidates and offer support like advice, career coaching, and mentoring.
The STEM Returners Index reveals that 66% of STEM professionals on a career break find returning to work difficult, with 46% feeling recruitment bias due to a lack of recent experience. Read more
Supply Chain Issues of Advanced Alloys Impede Production of Chinese Military Engines
China has completed development of its next-generation military aircraft engines, including the WS-19 and WS-20 turbofans, but is experiencing supply chain issues with advanced alloys necessary for mass production.
The WS-19 turbofan is being developed to power the Shenyang J-35 next-gen fighter jet for China's navy, while the WS-20 is a high-bypass turbofan that will power the People’s Liberation Army Air Force's Xi’an Y-20 airlifters.
The WS-15 afterburning turbofan, with a 181 kN rating, is ready for mass production and will power later Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter variants. Read more
Delta Air Lines Selects Viasat for In-flight Connectivity on Over 1,000 Aircraft
Delta Air Lines has selected Viasat to provide in-flight connectivity to its fleet, with Viasat's solution set to be installed on over 1,000 Delta aircraft.
Viasat is a global communications company that already provides in-flight connectivity for several major carriers, including American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines.
The new partnership means Viasat will provide connectivity on a wide range of aircraft within Delta’s fleet, including its Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 767 models, as well as the Airbus A220 and the Boeing 737 MAX 10, for which the airline recently placed a sizable order. Read more
NATS' West Airspace Deployment Transforms Third of UK's Airspace Infrastructure
NATS has deployed systemization and Free Route Airspace (FRA) simultaneously in a move to transform a third of the country's airspace infrastructure.
Known as the West Airspace Deployment, the move includes the latest of nine airspace change projects that NATS has implemented in the last two years to improve the efficiency of the UK’s network.
The systemized network covers flight paths from 7,000ft to 24,500ft and has highly defined flight paths that use the available airspace efficiently.
FRA covers the high-level network above 24,500ft, and it allows airlines to fly their preferred route to reduce fuel burn, flight time, and CO2 emissions. Read more
Helicopter Industry Expresses Optimism for Emerging Advanced Air Mobility Sector
The helicopter industry is showing interest in the emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, with many experts believing that new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft will start to replace some current helicopter use cases.
Lobo Leasing has made a down payment for Pipistrel's Nuuva autonomous cargo vehicles and is ready to make further payments. However, others, such as Nova Capital have no plans to invest in eVTOLs, although they acknowledge the potential impact of these aircraft on the residual values of existing rotorcraft.
Whereas, Bristow has provisional order agreements with several manufacturers and focuses on remotely piloted cargo flights in regions such as South America and Africa. Read more
Honeywell and Lufthansa Technik Partner to Enhance Aviation Analytics Platform
Honeywell and Lufthansa Technik are collaborating to enhance Lufthansa Technik's digital platform AVIATAR for improved aviation analytics customer experience.
Honeywell's Connected Maintenance analytics are being integrated into AVIATAR's Predictive Health Analytics (PHA) suite, which will expand to over 100 Predictors for various Airbus and Boeing aircraft types.
This agreement offers an integrated product that helps airlines decrease maintenance costs, technical delays, and cancellations in airline operations.
AVIATAR's integrated data analytics capabilities and Honeywell Predictors offer airlines a comprehensive digital product portfolio for Tech Ops.
AVIATAR's open architecture has been developed to interface with IT systems worldwide, which allows customers to benefit from digitally enhanced MRO services. Read more
ICAO Council Adopts Updated International Aviation Environmental Standards
The ICAO Council has adopted updated international aviation environmental protection standards during its 228th session. One key amendment to Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention provides more clarity on monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements related to the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
It also establishes a new CORSIA offsetting threshold for smaller airlines and confirms the offsetting calculation to be applied by new operators. The council also made progress on new Annex 16 amendments to address aircraft noise and engine emissions.
The new standards will take effect from 31 July 2023, with an applicability date of 1 January 2024. Read more
Balancing Aviation Growth and Noise Impact
The UK government has initiated a six-week consultation on night-time aircraft noise at Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted airports.
The consultation follows an increase in overnight flights in the summer 2022 due to late-running flights and aviation sector disruptions caused by staffing shortages.
The consultation aims to gather opinions from affected communities and the industry, with outcomes guiding future noise management measures at the three airports from October 2025. Read more
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